Basil Fawlty tops best put-downs list

A poll of the top 25 television put-downs has been published in the Radio Times. The list, compiled by RT's John Naughton, was inspired by Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes character Gene Hunt, who is known for his insults and politically incorrect remarks.

The winner of the poll was Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers. The chosen put-down is from a scene in which his wife Cybil asks him not to shout at her, to which Basil replies: "Oh dear, what happened? Did you get entangled in the eiderdown again? Not enough cream in your éclair? Hmm? Or did you have to talk to all your friends for so long that you didn't have time to perm your ears?"

Second on the list was the Caroline Aherne character Mrs. Merton who, when talking to Debbie McGee, asked: "So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"

Third was Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder II, who said to the idiotic Lord Percy: "The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Perce?"

Here are the other British comedy entries:

5: "Drink! Feck! Arse! Girls!" Father Jack Hackett, Father Ted

8: "No. We can still see your face." Jim Royle, The Royle Family - after Norma asks: "Is this hat too far forward?"

9: "All these hands all over the place! You were like a sweaty octopus trying to unhook a bra! It was like watching John Leslie at work!" Malcolm Tucker, The Thick of It - dressing down an MP after a poor performance on Newsnight

11: "I realise this must be a very difficult time for you, so put your knickers on and go and make me a cup of tea!" Inspector Monkfish, The Fast Show - talking to a recently bereaved woman

12: "I notice you're not wearing a wedding ring, which given your age means you're divorced or a lesbian"
Arabella Weir character, The Fast Show

13: "The only thing you study is your navel. You even shave lying down." Rupert Rigsby, Rising Damp

14: "She said to me last time, 'You look bored, Mrs Taylor. I've got three words for you: Barbara Taylor Bradford.' So I said, 'Yeah? I've got three words for you, too: calorie-controlled diet'." Gran, The Catherine Tate Show

15: "That's because it's been inside your mum's bra."
Rob Newman and David Baddiel as ageing academics in The Mary Whitehouse Experience after one claims to the other "I have here a copy of your book, Origins of the Crimean War. It smells of poo."

16: "You Scouse git!" Alf Garnett, Till Death Us Do Part

19: "Look, we all have something to bring to the discussion. But I think from now on the thing you should bring is silence." Arnold Rimmer, Red Dwarf

22: "Let's face it, Tony, the only way you're gonna be in there is if you're both marooned on a desert island and she eats a poisonous berry or a nut which makes her temporarily deaf, dumb, stupid, forgetful and desperate for sex." Gary Strang, Men Behaving Badly

25: "You stupid boy" Captain Mainwaring, Dad's Army

The full countdown can be seen here.